Teachers, staff calling for removal of superintendent

Traci Hastings, The Chronicle, Willimantic, Conn.
·4 min read

Jun. 14—Teachers and staff at Ashford School are calling for the removal of the school superintendent.

Craig Creller started in the role as superintendent less than a year ago on July 1. Ashford School serves pre- kindergarten students through eighth grade.

At a special meeting held on June 8, the Board of Education reviewed the superintendent's contract and his recent evaluation in executive session. On June 11, the Ashford Education Association, the teacher's union, issued a release calling for Creller's dismissal.

According to the teacher's union, during the June 8 meeting, both it and the members of the Municipal Employees Union Independent, comprised of paraprofessionals, cafeteria and custodial staff, and school bus drivers, presented votes of " no confidence" in the superintendent, citing performance issues and misleading information on the use of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funds " that jeopardize the education of the town's children" as well as a failure to collaborate and the " staggering" loss of 32% of teachers in the last year.

" Both unions had 100% participation rates, and each union had 97% in agreement with the vote," said the Ashford Education Association's release.

The union members said that when teachers were surveyed earlier this year, many indicated that morale is at an all- time low in the school, and that many fear reprisal if they express their opinions.

The Chronicle obtained emails between the union and the superintendent, detailing concerns on both sides. When the union asked the superintendent in April for clarification regarding areas for which ESSER funds would be used, the superin-

ASHFORD, Page 4

------

Ashford teachers, stau vote "no confidence" in superintendent

Continued from Page 1

tendent responded " the most important thing to remember with grants is that you cannot ' supplant': i. e. spend the funds on items that are already part of your regular local budget. Most grants have very specific guidelines to support efforts 'in addition' to your regular spending. For example, ESSER III is specifically for closing the achievement gap due to COVID-related declines, and even though there is about $ 300,000 left in that grant, it has to last three years."

The union disputed that interpretation, saying that according to the US Department of Education the funds could be used for many things, including continuing to employ existing or new staff, and that funds could " supplant local funds."

The union position was that the ESSER funding could be used for the 2022-23 budget to avoid further staffing cuts in the coming year. But the following day, the superintendent reiterated via email the ESSER funds " can not be utilized to pay for existing salaries as that would be illegal." The union again stated the Board of Education could use ESSER funding for existing budget items, and the superintendent responded that he "respectfully" disagreed. The union also noted that the they were frequently excluded from the budget preparation process, unlike in years past under different administrations.

The union said that staff were surveyed anonymously in February and again in May. In the winter, 93% of the respondents indicated that they didn't believe the superintendent respected them; by the spring, that percentage of responses was at 100%.

They are asking the Board of Education to oust Creller from his position. Board of Education Chair Jane Urban said that she had "no comment" about the union's position or Creller's future at the school.

Creller did not immediately respond to a request from the Chronicle for comment about the union's vote of no confidence or his own goals in leading the school.

A special meeting is scheduled for June 14, and the Board's next regular monthly meeting is set for June 16. Agendas had not yet been posted for either at the time of this writing, but the union members are asking for the school board to act as soon as possible.

"Our students have already lost so many experienced, high- quality educators this past school year," the union's release said in part. "If Ashford is to provide our children with the tools and educational and emotional foundation needed to become successful, contributing members of our community, the Board of Education needs to act before we lose even more of our highly- qualified teachers to other districts desperately competing to hire educators for the 2022-23 school year."

Follow the Chronicle on Twitter — @ thechroniclect